How to Set Up Emergency SOS and Medical ID on iPhone

A Medical ID shows first responders your conditions, medications, and contacts from the lock screen, and Emergency SOS calls for help with a button press. Both take a few minutes to set up.

Open Medical ID in the Health app

Open Health, tap your profile picture at the top right, and tap Medical ID. Tap Get Started if it is empty, or Edit if it already exists.

Fill in your medical details

Enter your date of birth, then medical conditions, medical notes, allergies and reactions, medications, blood type, and organ donor status. Leave anything blank that does not apply. Under Emergency Contacts, tap add emergency contact, pick a person from Contacts, and choose the relationship.

Turn on lock screen access and sharing

Scroll to the bottom of the Medical ID screen. Turn on Show When Locked so responders can read it without the passcode, and Share During Emergency Call so the ID is sent to emergency services when you call them from the phone (where the service supports it). Tap Done.

Choose how Emergency SOS is triggered

Open Settings and tap Emergency SOS. Turn on Call with Hold and Release to start a call by holding the Side button and a Volume button until the countdown ends, then releasing. Turn on Call with 5 Button Presses to also trigger it by pressing the Side button five times quickly. Call Quietly stops the warning alarm and flashing so the phone does not draw attention while calling.

Know what happens when it fires

On any iPhone, hold Side and either Volume button, then keep holding through the countdown or drag the Emergency Call slider. After the call ends, your emergency contacts receive a text with your current location. iPhone 14 and later can also reach emergency services over satellite when there is no cellular or Wi-Fi signal, and Crash Detection calls automatically after a severe car crash if you do not respond.

If someone needs to see your Medical ID. On the lock screen, tap Emergency on the passcode screen, then Medical ID at the bottom left. That is where responders will look.

If you want to test it. Practice holding the buttons until the sliders appear, then let go and tap the X. Do not let the countdown finish, and do not swipe the slider, since that places a real emergency call.